Plug ejector for electrical outlets



May l, 1951 R. N. GERNHEUSER 2,551,533

PLUG EJECTOR FOR ELECTRICAL OUTLETS Filed Feb. 21, l19m@ 2 sheets-sheet1 33 54 INVENTOR. Raaf-:RT NEBHNHEUEBH May 1, 1951\ R. N. GERNHEUSERPLUG EJECTOR FOR ELECTRICAL OUTLETS Filed Feb. 2l, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2l INVENTOR. RDBERT M Emmi-:UEE E Patented May 1, 1951 PLUG EJECTOR FORELECTRICAL OUTLETS Robert N. Gernheuser, Toledo, Ohio, assignorv toGernheuser Industries, Inc., Toledo, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application February 21, 1946, Serial No. 649,311

This invention relates to plug electors, and particularly to devices forcjecting a male member, such as an electrical plug or the like, fromengagement. with a female member, such as an electrical socket or thelike.

Ordinarily, disengagement of mating plug and socket members is effectedby drawing on. the electrical cord connected to the plug, whichprocedure, not. infrequently, results in the detriment or the ultimatebreakage of the cord, the connection, or the plug and socket members,thereby to create an electrical hazard.

It is. an object of this invention to provide a new and improved meansfor eiecting the remaval of the. plug from the socket member by thegeneration of force actingy to eject one from the other.

Another objectof this invention is to produce a plus ejecting devicewhich may be easily and simply mounted onv the socket covery plateenabling the conversion of presently installed receptacles into unitshaving the desired improvements.

A further object off this invention is` to producea device of the typedescribed having a combined cam and lever action eiectively to eject aplug from a socket member in response to the application of slightpressures on an adjacent button lever. The device, being comprised ofrelatively few and simply formed elements which may be used incombination on the cover plate, is adapted to be mounted on presentlyinstalled outlets to expedite. the. further improved usage thereof.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a devicev of thetype described which. opcrates in connection with the socket member toeject the inserted plug in response to the application of slightpressure to an adjacent button to release tensioned springs which forcethe ejection of the inserted plug member.

A still further object of this. invention is to produce a simple,V andefficient ejection. device which is reliable in operation, relativelyeasy to manufacture and assemble, and in which areembodied new andimproved features of construction,` arrangement and operation`hereinafter described, For purposes of illustration but not oflimitation,1 various embodiments of. the invention are shown in theaccompanying. drawings, in which:

Figui-ca 1 is a. detailed top view of. the receptaclev plate having apair of plug ejectors for operation in association with adjacent plugs,one of which is shown in the inserted position, the other of which isshown in the ejected position;

Figure 3 is a sectional elevational view taken along the line 3-3 ofFigure 1, showing the relationship of members when the plug is in theengaged position;

Figure 4 is a sectional elevational view taken along the line 4-4 ofFigure 1, showing the mounting bracket for the cammed lever, the axisbeing shown disengaged for purposes of clarity;

Figure 5 is a sectional side elevational view taken along the line 5--5of Figure 1, showing the cammed lever as disposed when the plug is inthe engaged and disengaged position;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of thev cammed lever;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the formed leaf spring which may beused with the plug ejector illustrated in Figures' 1 to 6;

Figure. 8 is a top view of a double electrical receptacle in which theplug ejector device` is associated with the enclosed socket member;

Figure 9 is a detailed elevational view showing the release button leverfor use in connection with the ejection device illustrated in Figure 8;

Figure l0 is an elevational view partially in section taken along theline I--I of Figure 8, showing one plug in the engaged position, and theother plug, in the disengaged position with some of the associatedelements not being illustrated in section for purpose of clarity;

Figure 11 is a. detailed sectional elevational view taken along the linell--ll of Figure 8; and

Figure 12. is a detailed sectional elevational view of another form ofplug ejector for use in combination with socket members.

Figures 1A to 7 of the illustrated embodiments of theV invention showone form of the device in which lll indicates a cover plate having tworeceptable openings Il for enclosure of socket members (Snot shown), anda centrally positioned aperture l2 for insertion therethrough of a screwf3 adapted to secure the cover plate on to the receptacle housing (not.shown), in which the electrical socket members are positioned.

The drawings show electrical socket members having spaced verticallydisposed slots adapted for engagement with spaced prongs I4 comprissingapart of the male. member or plug l5, which:

prongs are associated with separate wires which comprise a party of thecord [6 leading from the plug member l5. Detailed description of theplug and socket members are considered unnecessary in View of theirgeneral usage and knowledge in the electrical art.

Heretofore, removal of the plug from the engaged position has beeneffected by the exertion of withdrawing forces on the attached cord I6.'I'his has led to the frequent breakage of the cord and has harmfullyaffected the complementary plug and socket members. It is, therefore,expedient to provide a means for effecting the disengagement of the plugfrom the socket members by other positively actuating means. For thispurpose, each end portion of the cover plate I I] is provided with aplug ejector I l, having a mounting frame I8 comprising a pair of spaceduprights I9 which is interconnected by a cross brace 20 increasing therigidity and strength of the frame as well as providing an anvil` `forpurposes hereinafter described. Each mounting frame I8 is positioned atthe central outer edgey portions of the cover plate and in securedthereto by means of screws (not shown) which extend through suitableopenings in the cover plate to engage the under side of the spaceduprights I9. It is to be understood that the mounting frame I8 may bemolded as an integral part of a molded cover plate comprising suchmaterials as metals, plastics, wood, ceramics or the like.

Aligned apertures 2I in the spaced uprights are adapted to receive anelongate pivot pin 22, which also extends through an arcuate slot 23formed in the heel 24 of a curved lever 25, which slot substantiallyconforms to the curvature of the heel.

As illustrated in detail in Figure 6, the lever 25 comprises asubstantial flat elongate rectangular arm or shoe 26 which is integralwith a rectangular handle 21 of greater cross section extending upwardlytherefrom at an angle substantially greater than 90, but less than 180.The integrally connecting intermediate portion is curved to form a camshoulder 28 which enters into the function of the ejector as will behereinafter' described. The outer end of the handle 2'!` is providedWith a concave disc portion or button 29 which may or may not be knurledfor purposes to prevent iinger slippage on the application of fingerpressures.

Manifestly, the curved lever 25 may be rocked upon the pivot pin 22whereby the elongate arm 26, which extends over and into the cut-outportion II of the cover plate I0, is moved in an upwardly or downwardlydirection in an arc having the pin 22 as its pivotal center. In theassembled relation the arm 2E is adapted to be disposed between theprongs I4 of the plug member I and to abut the underside of the plug.Thus movement of the plug in the direction towards engagement effectsthe downward movement of the arm 26, and concomitantly the rockingmovement of the integral handle 27 in the upwardly direction. At thesame time, the lever 25 is moved transversely in the direction away fromthe plug in view of the permissible `sliding movement of the pin 22 inthe arcuate slotj23 formedv in the heel portion. Conversely, theapplication of slight pressure upon the disc button 29 urges the handlein the downwardly direction and, responsive to the engagement of thecurvilinear heel portion againstl the cross brace 20, the simultaneousinward movement of the lever 25, which movement brings the curvedshoulder 28 into vengagement with the edged portion of the plug causingit to be cammed lupwardly and away from the engaged socket member.Concomitantly, the arm 26 is rocked in the upwardly direction to furtheraid and complete the movement of the plug from the engaged position incooperation with the cammed shoulder action.

It is well understood by those skilled in the art that greater forcesare required to initiate the disengagement, which forces are adequatelyand expeditiously provided bythe initial camming action lin combinationwith the lifting forces resulting from the arm movements. However, it isto be understood that sufficient forces might be developed solely bymeans of the simple lever acti-on to eject the engaged complementarymembers thereby to eliminate the need for the camming action and thearcuate slot 23. It is may also be formed in the spaced uprights I9,

the lever merely having an aperture for receipt of the pin 22, therebysimilarly to provide the camming action previously described.

It isevident that thev movements described occur during the engagementor disengagement of the plug member with a complementary socket member.However, it may be desirable normally to maintain the lever in theposition assumed during plug engagement, and for such purposes, a formedspring metal strip 39, shown in Figure 7, is provided. The spring metalstrip 3U `has a central looped portion 30a which urges the ends toextend divergently therefrom. One curved end portion 3i is adapted tobear against lthe cover plate I, the other spaced end portion v'32 is`formed with a inwardly extending shoulder portion 33 and asubstantially perpendicular laterally-extending end portion 34 integraltherewith for engagement with a similarly formed aperture S5 in thelower handle portion of the lever 2o. It is thus apparent that the endportions 35 and Sil are adapted to pivotally engage' the aperture 35,and in cooperation with the spaced end portion BI to urge the handleportion 2'! vin the upright position.

Obviously the elements described may be formed of electrical insulatingmaterials such as molded or machined plastics, wood, ceramics or thelike, and may be assembled either on rpresent cover plates or may becombined by means of a simple molding operation with cover plates beingmanufactured for subsequent'sales and distribution.

For purposes of protection and neatness normally it is 'desirable tovenclose the operable elements of a device ofthetype described withinconfined portions of the unit, and in such instances, it is expedient toincorporate the ejecting device vfor `operation in connection with thesocket member, which incorporation may be effected during themanufacturing processes thereby to make commercially availablereceptacles having improved characteristics. One modificationillustrating such construction isr shown in Figures 8 to 11, in which acover plate 3G hasl afpair of receptacle openings 3l' each superposedovernsocket members 38. v p

As previously described, the socket members comprise a pair ofvertically disposedslots 39 having electrical contact plates 40connected by conducting metal strips 4I to separated electrical bindingposts 42. In the engaged position,I the spaced prongs 3 of each .plug 44 are adapted to contact each electrical plated@ Vre'spe.c'tivelyy i0.,CODSi-iltfelegtrical'. Current therefrom through. the extension cordlieto' the element to be ener-- gized. The cover .plate ispositionedinrelation to the sockel? member by a :dat head screw '4 which engages athree-.ded aperture H the socket housing 48.

The ejecting device associated with the: socket member comprises.v aninverted; hollow cylinder 49 slidable longitudinally in a cylindricalcavity 55', which. comprises part of the: socket.- housing and ispositioned centrally of the s1ots'3v9. In the. normal position thecylinder 49 extends outwardly beyond the surface of the cover' plate, inwhich position itis urged by a coil, spring 5l having one end portionenclosed by the cylinder 49 and the other end` portion bearing: againstthe base of the cavity 50. The extending, cylinder 49 is. adapted toabut the central portion oi the plug 44 duringthev movementsv oi theYsame in the, direction towards engagement',l tensioning the coil spring,during which. movementthe cylinder 49 is guided in the downwardlydirection by a pin 52 extending through the cavity wall and engaging averticalA slot,I 53 in the cylinder.

Upon movement of the plug member to the engaged position, an opening54'is adapted to be engaged by a pawl 55 thereby to prevent retrogrademovement of the cylinder until such time as the pawl has been Withdrawnfrom engagement by the application of force operating in a mannerhereinafter described.

Normally a tubular button 'iis urged in an outward direction to extendbeyond the cover plate 3E by means of a coil spring 5E having aconsiderable portion disposed within they cylinder 51 and the other endbearing against the base of a cylindrical cavity 58', in which thetubular button 5'! is reciprocal, which cavity forms a part of thesocket housing 48. A link 5%9- pivotally connected to the lower endportion of the cylinder 51 extends downwardly to pivotally engage oneend of a lever arm 60, which, in turn, is pivotally mounted at 6| uponan ear 62 forming a part of the cavity 50. The pawl 55 forms an integralpart of the other end of lever arm 6U and is urged in the directiontoward engagement with the opening 54 in response to the spring forcesurging the cylinder 51 in the outwardly direction.

It is to be understood that the forces generated by the spring 5B, whenrelated to the pawl 55, are sufficient to hold the pawl in engagementwith the edge of the opening 54 overcoming the static forces of thespring 5| urging the cylinder 49 in the outwardly direction and,concomitantly, urging the pawl in the direction towards disengagementfrom the edges of the opening 54.

When in the engaged position, the depression of the tubular button 5leffects the movement thereof and the associated link 59 in thedownwardly direction, thereby pivotally to rock the arm 6D in thedirection withdrawing the pawl 55 from engagement with the aperture 54which permits the tensioned coil spring 5! to move the cylinder 49 inthe upwardly direction, ejecting the plug 44 from the engaged position.

Another modication of an ejection device which may be assembled inconnection with the socket member is illustrated in Figure 12, in whichrigid elongate insulating strips 63, which may be formed from thevarious plastics, mold-ed rubber-like materials or the like, aredisposed within the slots 39a of the socket member. An inwardlyextending ange 64 integral with the lower end of the strip 63 is adaptedto abut a cup-shaped disc member 65 having one end of a coil spring 66seated therein, the other end bearing against the bottom of the sockethousing 48a. A leaf spring 6l, having its central portion formed about apin 68 associated with the socketfmember intermcdiatefof theverticallydisposed slots, curved; downwardly and retained intheflexedstatei-byfspaced: ngers secured to lateral end portionscfa'lf-shaped arm 7.0 which is` Vmovable-in. the verticaldirection within avslot 'Il formed in the socket portion intermediate of the slots 39a.

Movement .of the T-plate 10 in the upward direction to abutment with.the upper edge of the slot 'Il causes the ends of the tensioned leafspring 61 to extend beyond the inner edge portions of the flanges At4.Thus, movement of the plug 44a in the direction toward engagement, ofthe socket member effects the downward movement of. the elongate strips63., tensioning the coil spring 66, and flexing the leaf spring. V(il.in the inwardly direction. During the iinal movements of the plug intothe engaged position, the ends of the tensioned leaf spring are adaptedto clear the upper edge of the flanges M, and thereafter to snap into'engagement with the shoulders 'l2 formed by the flange thereby toprevent retrograde movement of the insulating strips 63. It is evidentthatA movement of the T-plate in the downward direction will effect theinward ilexure of the leaf spring 6T causing the endsyof same to bewithdrawn from engagementwith the shoulders 62, freeing the ejectingelements for movement in the upward direction, which movement is eiectedby the tension coil spring 66V resulting in the emission of the plug 44afrom the socket member.

Downwardl movement of the T-plate l!! may be effected by any suitablelever means to be associated with an adjacent button extending beyondthe surface of the cover plate, partial illustration only being made toan arm 13 connected to the lower end of the plate 72, which may beactuated in a downward direction by pivotally connected levers I4mounted in a manner to move the illustrated end in a downward directionin response to the application of pressure to an associated button.

It is manifest that I have produced various modifications of plugejectors which may be assembled in combination with cover plates or thesocket members for operation in response to the application of slightpressures to eject an electrical plug from the engaged position. It isto be understood that other modifications may be made with respect tothe construction, arrangement and operation of the associated elementsto effect the desired result without departing from the spirit of theinvention especially as denned in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with an electrical receptacle having a cover plate andmating plug and socket members, an ejection device comprising an elementhaving a pair of arms extending divergently at an angle greater than butless than 180 and an integral intermediate curvilinear section providinga cam shoulder, a curvilinear slot in said intermediate section, spacedsupports on said cover plate, and an axle through said slot and spacedsupports enabling said arms to be rocked vertically in oppositedirections toward or away from said socket member and to be shiftedlongitudinally in the direction toward or away from said plug member,one of said arms being disposed between said mating members when in theengaged position, whereby movement of said other arm in the directiontowards said socket member concomitantly causes the 10n- 7 gitudinalshifting movement of said element in the direction towards said plugcamming same from engagement with said socket member and the verticalmovement of said first arm lifting said plug out of engagement with saidsocket member.

2. An electrical plug ejection device comprising a relatively staticnarysupport having an aperture for affording access to an electrical plugreceiving socket, an element having a pair of divergently extendingarms, one arm constituting a plug ejecting arm and being disposed in theregion of the aperture for positioning between the plug and socket, theother arm of said element constituting the actuating arm for impartingplug ejecting movement to the rst arm, and a combined longitudinalshifting and rocking connection between an intermediate portion of saidelement and said support whereby upon depression of said actuating arm,the element is concomitantly rocked and shifted to cause the ejectingarm to force the plug away from the socket.

3. The organization as claimed in claim 2, including a curvilinear camsurface on the under side of the element between the arms, said camsurface slidably and rockably engaging the adjacent surface of saidsupport during plug ejecting operation.

4. In combination with an electrical receptacle having a cover plate andmating plug and socket members, an ejection device comprising an elementhaving a pair of arms extending divergently at an angle greater than 90but less than 180 and an integral intermediate curvilinear sectionproviding a cam shoulder, spaced supports on said cover plate betweenwhich said curvilinear section is disposed, and a connection betweensaid intermediate section and spaced supports enabling said arms to berocked vertically in opposite directions toward or away from said socketmember and to be shifted longitudinally in the direction toward or awayfrom said plug member, one of said arms being disposed between saidmating members when in the engaged position, whereby movement of saidother arm in the direction towards said socket member concomitantlycauses the longitudinal shifting movement of said element in thedirection toward said plug camming same from engagement with said socketmember and the vertical movement of said first arm 1ifting said plug outof engagement with said socket member.

ROBERT N. GERNHEUSER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the f'lle ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,051,425 Schlums Aug. 18, 19362,134,345 Sheeran Oct. 25, 1938 2,142,284 Park Jan. 3, 1939 2,277,605Palitzsch Mar. 24, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 445,486England Apr. 14, 1936 652,140 Germany Apr. 30, 1936

